Dr. Oz shares his vision for CMS

CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz last week issued a press release outlining his agenda and vision for the agency, saying that CMS is "dedicated to delivering superior health outcomes across each program we administer."

Specifically, Oz outlined four things for CMS:

• Providing "personalized solutions" to Americans so they can "better manage their health and navigate the complex health care system." Oz said CMS will implement President Donald Trump's executive order on price transparency.
• Equipping healthcare providers with better information about their patients and "holding them accountable for health outcomes, rather than unnecessary paperwork that distracts them from their mission."
• Identifying and eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse.
• Shifting the healthcare paradigm from focusing on "sick care" to focusing instead on "prevention, wellness, and chronic disease management."

(CMS press release, 4/10)

President Trump is in 'excellent health,' physician says

White House physician Capt. Sean Barbabella on Sunday issued a memo with the results of President Donald Trump's first physical of his second term. In the memo, Barbabella said Trump "remains in excellent health" and is "fully fit" to serve as president.

Barbabella said that Trump's "active lifestyle … continues to contribute significantly" to his well-being. Trump, who turns 79 in June, weighed 224 pounds at his physical, down from 244 pounds at his physical in his first term more than four years ago.

The memo also shared the results of multiple tests Trump underwent, saying his eyesight is normal, his lungs are clear, and his thyroid and lymph nodes are normal. Trump's physical exam also noted a scar on his right ear from a gunshot wound that was sustained in July 2024 during an assassination attempt during a campaign rally.

The memo also noted that Trump has normal heart function and shared that he had a colonoscopy last July that found Trump has diverticulitis and a benign polyp that was removed.

In addition, a neurological exam showed "no abnormalities in his mental status" and Trump scored 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test that screens for cognitive disfunction.

(Sullivan/Wingrove, Bloomberg, 4/11; Habeshian, Axios, 4/13; Superville, Associated Press, 4/13; Diamond, et al., Washington Post, 4/13)

Trump administration opens investigation into pharmaceutical imports

In a Federal Register notice published Monday, the U.S. Department of Commerce disclosed it had formally opened an investigation into whether the importation of certain pharmaceuticals could threaten national security. This move will likely come ahead of imposing tariffs on a potentially large number of medications.

In the notice, the Department of Commerce said the investigation started on April 1 and encompasses medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients, key starting materials, and derivative products. The investigation will examine current and projected demand for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, whether domestic production is able to meet demand, the role foreign supply chains plan in meeting U.S. demand, and the concentration of imports from a small number of suppliers and any associated risk.

CDC eliminates its population health department

As part of mass layoffs initiated at HHS, CDC has eliminated its Division of Population Health with the exception of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), according to sources who spoke to MedPage Today.

The population health division, which was housed within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), was focused on promoting health and preventing chronic diseases.

The director of NCCDPHP has "essentially now erased [the division] from the org chart and moved BRFSS under the chronic OD center," one source said to MedPage Today.

BRFSS is a state-based telephone survey study that gathers data on health-related risk behaviors, chronic conditions, and the use of preventive services. It launched in 1984 in 15 states and now covers all 50 states, completing more than 400,000 interviews each year.

The cuts also included the population health division's Alzheimer's disease program, which had appropriations of $33 million per year from Congress, sources told MedPage Today. The program was authorized by the BOLD Act in 2018 and directed CDC to conduct research and develop programs in prevention, early detection, patient care, and caregiving for people with dementia.

The BOLD Act was recently reauthorized until 2029 by a unanimous vote in both the House and Senate, however, sources told MedPage Today that no one is left to do the work.

"They just got rid of all the dementia expertise in the entire agency," one source said to MedPage Today. "My guess is [the BOLD Act] falls apart … I don't see anyone else at CDC being able to pick this up and move it forward."

(Fiore, MedPage Today, 4/8)

Trump signs wide-ranging executive order targeting drug costs

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed a wide-ranging executive order to reduce drug costs, including changes to Medicare drug price negotiation, drug importation, and more.

The order directs HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to work with Congress to address the "pill penalty" in Medicare drug price negotiations, where small molecule drugs (typically pills) are eligible for drug price negotiation seven years after FDA approval compared to 11 years for biologics.

"This imbalance exacerbates incentives that already too often push companies to invest in large molecule drugs over small molecule alternatives, which often apply to broader populations and impact different types of conditions," an administration official said. However, the New York Times reports that the change could potentially increase Medicare drug spending by billions of dollars since it would likely delay the eligibility timeline for some drugs.

The order also targets drug importation and approvals of generic drugs. Under the order, FDA has been directed to expand state drug importation programs, which would provide a pathway for states to import drugs from Canada. So far, Florida has a program to import drugs from Canada, and several other states, including Colorado, New Mexico, and Vermont, have submitted similar proposals.

The agency has also been directed to streamline approvals for generic drugs and biosimilars. However, HHS recently shut down a division of generic drug regulatory experts, which could make streamlining the approval process for these drugs more difficult.

Other provisions of the order target broker fees from pharmacy benefit managers, the 340B drug program, and site-neutral payments. Currently, many of the provisions of the order require additional rulemaking or other actions to go into effect. (Bannow/Oza, STAT+ [subscription required], 4/15; Goldman, Axios, 4/15; Robbins/Sanger-Katz, New York Times, 4/15; Weixel, The Hill, 4/15)